WARNING : Don't you judge by reading one article. This site is not for you if you cannot see the otherness of other and sufferings of both sides of the party in the conflict. Security for Israel and Justice for the Palestinians are interdependent, one will not happen without the other. My view focuses on building cohesive societies where no one has to live in apprehension or fear of the other. I hope and pray a sense of justice to prevail. Amen. Website www.IsraelPalestineDialogue.com | Also Check Israel Palestine Confederation a pragmatic solution

Thursday, October 4, 2012

A Pragmatic Way to Resolve the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

A Pragmatic Way to Resolve the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Six years ago, I received an invitation to participate inan event on peace-building in the Middle Eastat the University of California, Los
Angeles. The seminar had been organized by a local lawyer, Josef Avesar, along
with academics at UCLA to find a novel way to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict. The idea was taken from other historic territorial conflicts and
rivalries – to establish anIsraeli-Palestinian
Confederation–
analogous to the cantons of Switzerland uniting or indeed the articles of
confederation of the United States, as noted by Amherst College politicalscientist Ronald Tiersky in the Jerusalem Post earlier this year. However, unlike earlier efforts,
this idea was to be implemented from the grassroots using the internet as a
platform to recruit candidates for a “virtual parliament,” while the
policy-makers remained deadlocked.

In six years, Mr. Avesar has been
determineddespite all oddsand
has managed to get over 700 Israelis and Palestinians (including in Gaza) to
run in a virtual election which will be held on December 12, 2012. Those who
may dismissed this as a gimmick should note that even a willingness to run in
an election of this kind poses peril to the candidates but they are willing to
do so because they see this as the most tangible effort to “think outside the
box” and move beyond the stagnation of one-state/ two-state fixes.

Last
week,the New York Times published a full-page advertisementregarding the IPC and its election
plan. Yet the level of suspicion, cynicism and contempt on all sides remains
intense. There is still deep-rooted suspicion of even those of us who aspire
for peace.As a board member of the IPCand as a Pakistani-American, I often
hear from both Arabs and Israelis that such initiatives are merely a means of
social-climbing or prize-fishing. Often we get labelled as “sell-outs” or
“conspirators” or for those who like to offer a patronizing pat on the back,
simply dismissed as “well-intentioned idealists.”

In my
visit to Israel in 2010 on aninvitation from Tel Aviv University and the U.S. embassy,
I was alarmed to find how much the narrative of peace-building has eroded – to
use an environmental metaphor. There is an uneasy calm, and a surprisingly
sanguine sense of security, which many Israelis voiced to me across the
political spectrum. Efforts such as the Israeli Palestinian Confederation are
thus seen as an attempt to disrupt this calm. Yet, the reality remains that the
status quo is untenable in the long-run. The Arab Spring and its aftermath
reminds us that the magma of misery that many feel in the Middle East cannot be
contained simply by higher walls and military security strategies. Initiatives
such as the IPC deserve our attention because they urge us to considerhybridity in conflict resolutionstrategies – a pathway between the
polarization of hard versus soft strategies.

Another
path to peace which deserves more attention is to get Israelis and
Palestinians to study together and develop an epistemic community on fields
such as environmental science. Such an approach is best exemplified by TheArava Institute for Environmental Studies in Israel.
Environmental factors will ultimately define the quality of life in the regions
for all ethnicities and political persuasion – particularly within Israel’s
political landscape which has become more atomized in recent years. The
administration of Arava noted that it is more difficult for Arava to recruit
West Bank Jewish settlers to study with Palestinians than it is for them to
recruit Palestinians to study with Israelis.

I share this somber example with you
because any celebration of peace-building and environmental stewardship must
remain grounded in “reality checks.” The willingness of the Arava Institute to
challenge Israeli law concerning the lack of access of Palestinians to
educational institutions in Israel is an important example of their bold
willingness to engage on these matters. As with the 700+ election-runners in
the IPC virtual parliament, it is heartening to see Israelis and Palestinian
students willing to endure the scorn of many of their friends for studying at
the Arava Institute – the yearning for peace is high and regrettably gets
eclipsed by the cacophony of radicals.

Additional
initiatives such asFriends of the Earth – Middle Eastor theUniversity of the Middle East
Project, must be supported no matter how bleak the prospects for
peace may seem. Peace-building is a generational struggle and a responsibility
that incrementally falls on us all. The success of the IPC in my view remains
in the process of cognitive change which it is fostering. The December 12, 2012
virtual election will be a momentous achievement even if its symbolic. All
those willing to engage and embrace a democratic mechanism through this novel
idea deserve to be congratulated and supported.

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CAUTION

If you do not have an open mind and unwilling to see another point of view, this site is not for you. On this site, we welcome every point of view, you can express it in the comment section. If its a rant, it will not be posted but if it argues your point without cursing the other, you are welcome to post. Let's put all the cards on the table and develop solutions and cut out prejudices and stereotyping.

Israel Palestine Dialogue

Threat

The real threat to the peace process between Israel and Palestine stems from their inability to look at their own policies critically. It is time to quit blaming and start finding solutions. Damn it, the leaders ought to be ashamed of themselves if they cannot look in the eyes of Palestinian and Israeli Children and committ to give them a better life.

The leaders need to learn that, they cannot have peace and security when they keep threatening others around them, period.

Israel

Jews have a need to be understood and be acknowledged of their eternal security needs, not the military, but mental security where they can put their guards down and live their life in peace.

Palestine

Palestinians have a need to be understood. They have suffered immeasurably, no human should be stripped of his or her hope and dignity; hope to have a family, work and own a house and call a place their homeland.

U.S.A.

Our Presidents need to seriously look at what works. They need to have the vision for peace. They must understand that it may be going against the general opinion and must take bold steps and produce peace for the people of Israel and Palestine. It will save lives and brings peace to them and takes a burden off us.

We must protect Israel, our ally; however, if that protection is based on injustice to either Palestinians or the Jews, our integrity becomes questionable. We need to be above reproach and seek justice for one and all.

Mighty empires can crush the weak for a short term; in the long run every one goes down the tube. We cannot rob anyone and live with a good conscience.

Reference Map

Until the two nations determine their new boundaries, we will not have an accurate map, this one is simply an indicator

The Words

Words are the most powerful weapons of mass destruction. Just about every war and every conflict in the history of mankind has started out with a choice of wrong words.

There was a time when diplomats were trained in the art of speaking and the art of negotiating. Their whole purpose was to bring results through a dialogue.

Power makes one arrogant, and that arrogance translates into treatement of others in less than equal fashion, the mightier may bully and make their way for the moment, but in the back of their minds, they know they have to live with caution every minute of their life, as the oppresse will pounce in the moment of vulnerability.

Let our words become the mitigators of conflict and not aggravaotors - Mike Ghouse

PUBLISHER

Mike Ghouse is committed to building a cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day to the media and the public. He is a speaker thinker and a writer on the topics of pluralism, cohesive societies, Politics, Islam, interfaith, India and Peace. Over a thousand articles have been published on the topics and two of his books are poised to be released on Pluralism and Islam. Mike's work is reflected in 4 website's and 27 Blogs indexed at http://www.mikeghouse.net/ and you can find all of his current articles at www.TheGhousediary.com

Website & Blogs

Peace is attainable and we should not give up on it. The Jews deserve security and the Palestinians the hope. Both deserve peace and security.

"Peace hinges on hopes for the Palestinians and security for the Israelis, anything short of justice will not produce sustainable peace" - If Jews and Muslims can take the position that we cannot have peace when others around us don't and work on first removing bias and stereotyping from their own minds, conflicts will fade and solutions emerge. (more on left panel) Mike Ghouse

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Sixty years have gone by and yet we do not have hope for the Palestinians and Peace for the Israelis. Is it because we have been coerced to listen to the Hawks, who revel in death and destruction of the other?

The Israelis, the Palestinians and the Americans must insist on electing the leaders who will achieve peace without rejoicing the other's destruction. Any one who talks war must be asked to step down at once. The Billions we give them must be tied to their ability to bring peace.